As computer usage increases, so does the amount of data that users may seek to share between computers. Not only has the number of files being shared or accessed increased, but also the size of the files being transferred.
For example, users may transfer documents, spreadsheets, pictures and other types of files or documents. As the document size and complexity has grown, ways of summarizing a document or file content have been developed. For example it may be desirable to examine a summary of the content of a file or other ancillary information about the file or document before opening or downloading or otherwise processing it. One way to provide this information is through metadata.
Data files on computers often have descriptions or metadata which can tell extra information about the file. Examples of metadata include the file name, creation time, and size. Other metadata may include the author's name, e-mail lists of reviewers, keywords to help organize files, and so on. Some of this information may be personal or of a confidential nature that a user may not wish to distribute.